What is EYT?
The debate in Türkiye over those who have not reached full retirement age but have completed the required social insurance and premium periods began with the enactment of Law No. 4447 of 8 September 1999 and continues now with Law No. 5510. Those people are referred to as “Emeklilikte Yaşa Takılanlar”, which is abbreviated as “EYT”. The Law in question amended the retirement conditions for employees benefiting from the social insurance fund, the pension fund for the self-employed, and the state pension fund. Previously, citizens could retire when they completed the required social insurance and premium periods. However, the amendment increased the duration of those periods and obligated everyone to reach the full retirement age to be able to receive retirement benefits. Thus, those who completed the required social insurance and premium periods could not retire before reaching the full retirement age.
Conditions Applicable Before and After the Amendment
Before the amendment, women who had been insured for 20 years and completed 5000 days of premium payment and men who had been insured for 25 years and completed 5000 days of premium payment were allowed to receive retirement benefits.
After the amendment, men were required either to have completed 7000 days of premium payment and turned 60 or to have completed 4500 days of premium payment, being insured for 25 years, and turned 60 to retire whereas women were required either to have completed 7000 days of premium payment and turned 58 or to have completed 4500 days of premium payment, being insured for 20 years, and turned 58 to retire.
Moreover, the social security reform of 2008 raised the age limit based on the initial date of social insurance registration. Accordingly, among citizens who were insured on 1 May 2008 and afterwards, men were required to have turned 60 and completed 7200 days of premium payment whereas women were required to have turned 58 and completed 7200 days of premium payment to retire. After 2048, people will retire when they have reached the age of 65 and completed 7200 days of premium payment, regardless of their sex.
EYT Regulation
According to the recent statements made by the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the EYT regulation will maintain the validity of the retirement conditions in effect prior to 8 September 1999 for the relevant persons. The goal is to reverse the retrospective terms of the Law at the time of enactment, meaning that the regulation will not concern those who were insured as of 9 September 1999.
According to the last statements, the regulation will not require an age limit and make no distinction between citizens receiving benefits from the social insurance fund, the pension fund for the self-employed, and the state pension fund with regard to retirement conditions. When the law is in force, everyone who have completed the required premium and employment periods will be able to retire by submitting a pension petition, and those who do not satisfy the requirements will retire after achieving them. Women that have not completed the required premium period will benefit from premium exemption due to childbirth whereas men that have not completed the required premium period will benefit from premium exemption due to military service.
Those who will continue working after retirement by paying the Social Security Support Premium will benefit from an insurance premium incentive, which will reduce the amount of premiums to be paid by the employer. Thus, premiums of regular employees and pensioners will be the same.
Following the regulation, nearly 2,250,000 people will retire; therefore, employers will benefit from loans backed by KGF funds to assist them in providing severance pay.
Benefiting from the EYT Regulation If Entitled to the Premium Exemption for Military Service or Childbirth
Men who were granted premium exemption due to military service will benefit from the EYT regulation only if they had served before their initial date of insurance registration. If they fulfill that condition, what matters is the date corresponding to the start of the service period before the initial date of insurance registration. If that date is 8 September 1999 or earlier, the person can retire under the EYT regulation, provided that they fulfill the requirements for the premium and insurance periods.
To benefit from the EYT regulation with premium exemption due to childbirth, women must have delivered after internship insurance registration and before the start of their long-term insurance. The relevant period will be exempt from the required premium period, and the start of insurance will be deemed to be earlier.
The premium exemption will also apply to the periods of doctoral education, medical specialization, lawyer internship, and other missing periods corresponding to part-time working months.
However, the EYT regulation will not apply to people who were first insured as an apprentice candidate, apprentice, or intern.
Notice Pay under the EYT Regulation
Pursuant to the decision of the 22nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Appeal (file no. 2016/27701, decision no. 2020/630), “Since notice pay is a compensation to be paid by the party who terminates the employment contract to the other party, the terminating party is not entitled to the notice pay even if they terminate the contract for good cause. Under article 14 of Law no. 1475, the employee may not claim notice pay if they terminate their employment contract for reasons such as retirement, active military service, and marriage. In case of the aforementioned termination, the employer may not also claim notice pay.”
Thus, persons to retire under the EYT regulation will not be required to comply with the notice period.
Termination of Employment Contract under the EYT Regulation
Termination of Employment Contract by the Employee: Pursuant to article 14 of the Amended Labor Law no. 1475, which is still in force, the employee will have the right to leave their job voluntarily and to claim severance pay if they have completed the required premium and insurance periods. However, as is evident in the decision of the 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Appeal (file no. 2006/2716, decision no. 2006/8549), the employee may not claim severance pay if it is discovered that they have left the job to work somewhere else.
The obligation to pay severance pay will arise after the employee presents a document issued by the Social Security Institution stating that they are eligible to receive severance pay when they quit their job.
Termination of Employment Contract by the Employer: The Labor Law does not list retirement as a good cause for the termination of employment contract.
Moreover, decision no. 18257/17985 of 27.10.2003 of the 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Appeal states: “Based on the information and documents added to the file, it is evident that the plaintiff was entitled to retirement on the date of contract termination. Thus, there is no cause for dispute. Retirement is not a sufficient cause to terminate an employment contract. There is no regulation stipulating that retirement will be a good cause to terminate an employment contract.”
Accordingly, if an employee does not choose to step down despite fulfilling the retirement requirements under the EYT regulation, they cannot be forced to retire or dismissed simply for this reason.
